My Love
by evieeden
Summary: Steve had never had to deal with a woman's jealousy before. Advent fic for 13th December.


**Happy 13** **th** **December. Still running a day late, but slowly catching up. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy today's fic and thanks so much for reading. As always, I don't own anything to do with Marvel.**

 **M: My Love – Justin Timberlake**

 **My Love**

Steve had never been any good with women. Not when he was a 90-pound-soaking-wet asthmatic and not now that he'd been transformed into a taller, more muscled, super soldier version of himself.

He'd always been awkward, always said the wrong thing.

But he thought he was a decent person…or at least he tried to be.

So when Peggy became upset with him – he's not so oblivious that he cannot see that, no matter what she said – he hoped that he could put things right between them without putting his foot in it.

It was just the women were a lot more forward than he remembered them being in the past. Or maybe they had always been that way, ready to push for what they wanted, even if what they wanted was a man, and he just hadn't realised. His only frame of reference were Bucky's old girls and his best friend didn't stick with one type of woman long enough for Steve to get a grip on what they were like.

There were a couple that stood out though – mostly the ones he knew from church or their neighbourhood, although as they got older, the girls in their neighbourhood willing to take a chance on Bucky had significantly declined. He could only count about three girls who still gave Bucky the time of day when they were older though and all of them were girls Steve was friends with.

Mary Jameson, who never had a cross word to say about anyone. Sarah-Lou Harris, who could sass Bucky like nobody's business and had half-carried Steve home to their flat one afternoon when he had gotten an asthma attack in the middle of the grocers. Kitty Banner, who Bucky joked was the meekest little mouse to ever live, but who he was always kind to when her eyes lit up as he talked to her.

All the rest were a blur to Steve, interchangeable and unassuming. He didn't have a strong impression of them either way, so he couldn't say whether any of them had aggressively pursued Bucky in the way that Private Lorraine had with him earlier that day.

Although, knowing his friend, he probably would have enjoyed it a lot more than Steve had.

He knew part of the reason she had pursued him was his new figure, but at the same time, he had had this body when he was touring with the USO girls and apart from a few bawdy remarks at the beginning comparing him to Bert, the only other man there, they had mostly treated him like a younger brother, teasing him affectionately and bossing him around. They had sensed that he was off limits.

The few women there were in the base though, didn't have the same restraint.

Private Lorraine wasn't the first. There had been a stores clerk who had groped at his chest rather shamelessly when she fitted him up for his new dress uniform. Then there was Private Saunders who had invited him back to her room for a 'nightcap'. Steve was alternately mortified and stunned by their candor.

He just wanted things to get back to the way they were.

Not all the things, obviously. He didn't miss the asthma or the rheumatism or the frequent bouts of pneumonia. He also wasn't going to feel too sorry about the fact that the next time he faced down a bully, he wouldn't be the one getting his ass kicked. Nor was he going to miss the terror he felt that his best friend was out there on the front line and there was nothing he could do about it.

But he missed the easiness of being invisible to pretty much everyone. He missed how he could talk to Peggy and even though she thought he was strange, they were on a level playing field: pre-serum Steve had garnered about as much respect as Peggy had as a woman on the training field. It was something that had united them – being less… being born into bodies that weren't accepted as being just as strong simply because they had the appearance of frailty.

Erskine's experiment had tipped the scales somehow, made him more, but made him different at the same time. And although appearance aside, he still felt the same, Peggy didn't seem to treat him like he was.

Now he was a soldier – The Soldier – he was the other, just another of those she had been fighting against all her life.

The look she had given him when she shot at his new shield…

Which led him to where he was now, hovering at the edge of the bar where all the Commandoes were sat, howling with laughter, while Peggy sat quietly, a drink in her hand, talking quietly to Phillips.

"Whatever you did, you should apologise."

Steve jumped, prompting Bucky to laugh at him before playfully slapping his shoulder. He pulled a face and shrugged his friend off.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He should have known better than to try that one on Bucky.

"So, you're sulking and staring moodily into your drink because…? C'mon, Stevie, I know you better than that. You're down in the dumps, and from the looks your little lady has been shooting at you all evening, she's the reason why."

He couldn't help perking up at that. "She's looking at me?"

Bucky rolled his eyes and downed his finger of whisky before signalling the barman for another. "Did I say looking? I meant glaring. Which means you did something and now you need to make it up to her."

Steve nodded gravely. "So…what do I do?"

Bucky choked on his drink. "Hell if I know. I'm not the one trying to keep a dame sweet on me, am I? What did you do anyway?"

"Nothing," Steve immediately defended himself, "I didn't do anything."

"Ah," Bucky nodded as if this explained everything. "So it was one of the dolly birds around the base then."

"How do…" Steve shook his head. "No, you know what, I'm not even gonna ask."

Bucky smirked. "Jealousy is a terrible thing."

Steve curled in on himself and Bucky almost snorted at the sight. It was one thing for his friend to hunch over, looking all pathetic when he was sickly, but to pull the same pose and general look of dejection now was just ridiculous. "She's not jealous. She couldn't be."

"God, were you this much of an idiot before they stuck you?" Bucky asked, smirking. "She was your dame, you were her fella – in all but name anyway. Now, you've grown and other skirts have started sniffing around. You were probably her sure bet and now she's got competition."

Steve stared wide-eyed at his friend. "How you ever managed to charm any girl the way you talk, I'll never know."

Bucky grinned. "I've got other appealing features than just charm, you know, Stevie?"

This time Steve punched Bucky in the arm, while earned him nothing more than a laugh and a punch back.

Their antics had gained the attention of the Commandos and Peggy and Bucky twisted to wrap an arm around Steve's neck, trying to get him in a headlock. They scuffled for a moment and then broke apart, both laughing and out of breath. When Steve shot another quick look down the end of the bar as they reseated themselves, he saw that Peggy was smiling softly in their direction.

"Go." Bucky nudged him. "Go apologise, go buy her flowers, just go…" He took another swig of his drink. "If nothing else, her reaction only proves that she cares, and I know you do. So go and make it up to her – buy her flowers or a drink or something."

Bucky practically pushed him off the stool.

"Go."

Steve looked back at his friend and then stood up taller, unconsciously straightening his jacket. He walked toward Peggy, now alone at the bar, and stood nervously next to her.

She looked up at him, her gaze cool and assessing. She looked so calm and in control in that moment, so confident, while he was a nervous, quivering wreck.

"Captain Rogers," she greeted him.

"Agent Carter," he replied. His borrowed confidence melted away and he suddenly felt small and awkward again. "Can I buy you a drink?"

No matter what Bucky later said, he would have sworn that he didn't stutter.

As it was, a slow smile crossed Peggy's face and she pressed her red lips together to avoid giggling at him.

"Gin on the rocks, please."


End file.
